Dark Knight Reborn: Episode 1: Alliances and Assemblies
by Lord Jake the Warrior
Summary: One Month after the release of Gotham City from Bane's tyrannical rule, John Blake is still undecided about his role of the New Batman. But this all changes when a mysterious figure starts doing the Dark Knight's work for him, and Blake must learn what it is to be the Bat. Partially set in my IrregularVerse
1. Chapter 1

**Gotham City**

**23****rd**** February 2021**

**1 Month after Bane's Occupation**

The mugger hit the ground running, his polished shoes scraping on the gravel. He sprinted as fast as he could, attempting to get away from the grim black shadow descending on him.

He wasn't fast enough.

Screaming, he was lifted up by his left ankle, his flat cap floating serenely off down the street.

"Pino Maroni." The shadow coldly stated. "Youngest son of Salvatore Maroni, nicknamed 'The Italian', infamous mob boss, killed nine years ago by Harvey Two-Face Dent. Now look at what his family's reduced to. Robbing spare change off shopkeepers and prostitutes."

"A-Are you… hi-him?" Pino asked, trying to ignore the liquid running down his shirt.

The shadow gave a dark chuckle.

"Who? The _Bat_man? Haven't you heard? The Bat's dead."

Pino didn't respond, so the voice continued, spinning a staff in one hand.

"Of course, that doesn't mean anything to you lot, does it? One whisper of a Bat, you all go running. Criminals," he pronounced, shooting out, grabbing Pino's jacket and pulling him closer, leaning into the light as he did so "Are a superstitious, cowardly lot."

Pino stared in shock.

"Jesus," he stammered out "You're just a-"

"Finish that thought," The boy interrupted, flicking out a serrated knife "And… well, you've seen that Joker fellow, haven't you?"

Pino gulped very audibly, and worked his jaw around before timidly asking: "Wh…What do you want?"

"Lots of things." The boy chuckled "A world without crime, a lack of corruption and a nice stiff cup of Earl Grey. But what I want now, more than anything…" He leaned in towards Pino, so that all he could see was his cold blue eyes, glaring at him through the dynamo mask.

"_Is the Batman_."

_**A/N: Relatively new idea for me here-never done an episodic series, so new territory with old characters.**_

_**This is partially set in my IrregularVerse, but it's not necessarily a Crossover, so I'm not putting it there. It's also not necessarily needed to read that to understand this. Basically all you need to know is that at this point in time, the Irregulars are a global-spanning detective force that only people high-up in government know about but who keep track of all people of interest-high class criminals, ancient conspiracies and, of course, giant bat vigilantes. I'll explain more as we go on.**_

_**Please leave a review or comment, and please don't ask me where the rest of my stories are on being updated. They are not, repeat NOT being abandoned, but I've got so much on my plate at the moment that this is getting done over Doctor Who (Which is Class-1 Heresy in my British sensibilities) and only because It. Would. Not. Leave. Me. Alone. So, please, just a bit of sympathy for the poor A-Levels student, s'il vous plait?**_

_**God I'm speaking French.**_

_**Note on Timelines: For some weird, unexplainable reason, I've always pictured Dark Knight as taking place in Summer 2012. Taking that as read, Batman Begins takes place in 2011, and as Bruce is 30 then, that means he was born in 1981, meaning the Waynes were killed 1989, and as Rises is set 8 years after Dark Knight, Rises is set in 2020. As it is clearly winter during the final act of Rises, here I've taken it as either late December or early January of 2021. I'll draw up a timeline on my profile.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Batcave**

**Gotham City**

**24****th**** February 2021**

John Blake privately reflected that he was a _shit _Batman.

It had been one month since Bane had been defeated. One month since the bomb had gone off on Gotham's shores. One month since Bruce Wayne, the _real _Batman, had died to save Gotham.

One month since he'd picked Blake, fucking Blake, as his successor.

In that one month, Blake had done _fuck all_.

He hadn't gone out and fought crime. He hadn't used any of the gadgets. He sure as hell hadn't _told _anyone that he was-technically-Batman.

In the past month, Gotham and its residents had been placed under extreme scrutiny by the outside world. The government was expecting fallout after the bomb went off, despite Mr. Fox's assurances that it was meant to be a _clean _energy source, so there wouldn't _be_ any radiation. There was still hullabaloo about who would be Mayor, not that Blake could be arsed, after Hill died during Bane's occupation.

More importantly, however, Commissioner Gordon was under investigation.

Blake supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. He would have gladly arrested Gordon himself, before the shitstorm that was Gotham during Bane. But during those days he got to really know Gordon. There was only him, Gordon and a handful of others during that time, and he was in charge of watching Gordon. He was the only volunteer, the rest of the cops were too disgusted by what Gordon had done. But he heard Gordon, during the night, crying silently over a picture of his wife and kids, and he couldn't bring himself to hate him. This lie had destroyed Gordon's life just as much as it had destroyed Gotham.

Now, after what happened on the bridge, Blake sympathised with Gordon more. He had seen first-hand that the law wasn't enough.

But did that make him worthy of being Batman?

God, he needed a drink.

Sighing, he stepped off the platform and watched as it sunk into the floor. Then he walked to the lift and hit the button.

**Thomas And Martha Wayne Home For Orphaned Children**

After Bruce Wayne gave Wayne Manor to the city as an orphanage, all the kids from St Swithin's and the other orphanages had moved in. Blake, finding himself out of work and in need of money, had volunteered to work at the orphanage for a small fee, and bed and board.

Getting a can of coke from the fridge, he walked into the main rec room, the only room in the house with a TV big enough for all the kids to sit in front of. The majority of Wayne's stuff had been sold off, but the orphanage still got a generous annual stipend to pay all their expenses.

"Hi Mr Blake." The only other person in the room said, a red headed girl idly flicking through the channels.

"Hi Carrie." Blake said, glancing at the girl he'd gotten to know so well during Bane's invasion, as people had taken to calling it. He idly glanced at the TV, then looked away, before doing a double take at what he'd just seen.

"Wait, go back there a second." He said.

Carrie frowned, but pressed the button. It was GCN, with a picture of about five people strung up from various lampposts, gags on their mouths.

"For those of you just joining us, this is the shocking news that the Batman may be on our streets once more," Vicky Vale spoke over videos of the police helping the people down from their perches. "A staggering twenty petty criminals have been found strung up at no less than seven spots in the city, each with a note pinned to them with, reportedly, a list of their crimes and a signature."

Here the camera zoomed in on the note, or, more specifically, the bottom of it, where the words were easy to see:

With Compliments

The Dark Knight

"Wow." Carrie said, then fell into rapid pace rambling, growing more and more shrill. Blake left the room quickly, partly because he wanted to think but mostly to plan for the windows to be replaced after she grew loud enough to shatter glass.

Whether he was Batman or not was irrelevant. Someone was in his city, and he needed to know who.

It was time for Batman to make an appearance again.

_**A/N: Bit of boring filler, but I thought it was necessary to see exactly where Blake is before we get down to the thick of it.**_

_**Three guesses who Carrie is? Give you a hint: she's a Robin. I am planning to do a story on what Blake and a couple of others were doing during Dark Knight Rises, just to get my favourite pieces of Dark Knight Returns and No Man's Land out of the way.**_

_**Also, you have timeline? Soon, my pets, soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Lincoln Street**

**Gotham City**

**24****th**** February 2021**

Blake kept down low on the rooftops, trying to be unnoticeable.

He said, whilst wearing half a fucking Batsuit.

It transpired that the suit was too fucking tall for him, so he had to settle for the mask and the cape. And the belt. No way was he going without the belt.

Research on the computer in the Batcave had discovered the general locations of the sites the criminals had been dropped off from. Blake may not have been a detective for very long, but he knew how to figure out an area of operations. He'd done it all the time during Bane, so he should.

He wasn't scared of what would happen if he ran into some common thug. That wouldn't be his first street fight, and he could deal with that. What he was scared of was if the copycat was something else.

A clatter in an alleyway. A cut off scream.

Blake turned, instinctively running to the other side of the building.

The copycat could wait. Someone was in trouble. In _his _city.

There would be blood.

**Angel Street**

**Gotham City**

**24****th**** February 2021**

Blake leaned over the side of the building, his street-rat instincts taking in the sight below him.

Five guys, two with knives. One girl. Wasn't hard to figure it out.

"Come on, bitch!" the leader, a brute, or 'an ugly fucker', as Blake put it, laughed "Least you can do is put out!"

"P…Please." The girl begged, trembling.

"Shut up! Show the bitch the knife, Ben!"

"Right boss!" one of the men advanced menacingly on her, brandishing the serrated blade.

Blake moved to jump. He didn't know how to operate the cape, but he didn't care. He wanted to break something-preferably those bastard's bones.

But before he could, a shadow fell over the thugs, and all-including Blake-turned to see the new participant in this drama.

The first thing Blake recognized was that the figure was short-barely five foot. He wore a deerstalker cap, and a plain black shirt and pants. He carried a long, metal rod, a bo staff.

The figure spoke.

"'The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him…'"

"What the fuck?"

"'And fortune, on his damned quarrel, smiling, showed like a rebel's whore.'"

"Piss off, kid!"

"'But all's too weak, for brave Macbeth… Well, he deserves that name…'"

"Ben, get rid of him."

"Right boss." Ben walked up to him, raising his knife threateningly.

"'Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.'"

In a flash, the figure struck Ben's fingers with the staff, producing an audible crack. Ben dropped his knife, and the figure kicked it into a grate.

"'Like valour's minion, carved out his message, till he faced the slave;'"

The other four advanced on him, but the figure barely noticed them, instead raising his eyes to the sky, and Blake got his first look at him.

_Jesus, he's just a kid. _Blake thought.

The kid looked about thirteen, with black hair and green eyes, and an innocent expression on his face that was in contrast to the intelligence in his eyes. A smirk fell on his face, and he finally spoke again.

"'Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him.'"

One of the thugs ran at him, but the figure sprung into the air and wrapped the bo around the guy's neck, sending him careening into the other thug. Another was tripped up by the end, hitting his head on the sidewalk. The boss tried to ran, but the figure threw a red boomerang-_Wait, what?_ Blake thought-and the boss was tripped up.

All the thugs finished, the kid walked up to the girl, who was kneeling on the ground, and helped her up.

"You're safe now." He assured her.

The girl looked at him in wonder.

"Are you him?" she whispered.

He laughed.

"No. But I work with him. Or will be, soon. Can you get home on your own?"

She nodded, and he waved her off.

As she rounded the corner, he turned his head to the sky again.

"You can come out now." He said "I know you're there."

Blake swore silently.

"Actually, stay there. I'll come up to you." He raised his hand, and a wire shot out, grasping the edge of the building. There was a whirr, and the boy shot up to grasp the edge of the building.

Blake instinctively offered him a hand up. He accepted, and soon Blake was staring down at him from close up.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Blake." The figure said, grinning at him. "The name's Drake. Tim Drake."

_**A/N: YAY! TIMMY! I'VE MISSED YOU!**_

_**What the-**_

_**HI AUTHOUR! IT'S MEEEEE!**_

_**Oh fuck no!**_

_**YEP! BATMITE IS HERE!**_

_**Batmite, what the fuck are you doing here?**_

_**WELL, IT'S HARDLY LIKE I'M GOING TO BE IN THE STORY, IS IT? WON'T FIT WITH NOLAN'S THEME! SO I DECIDED TO HIJACK THE AUTHOUR'S NOTES!**_

_**For the love of fuck, stop talking like that.**_

_**LIKE WHAT?**_

_**LIKE THIS!**_

_**Sorry.**_

_**Fuck off.**_

_**Anyway, so it only made sense that Tim be an Irregular-he's almost as intelligent as Bruce, so being a scion of Holmes just made too much sense.**_

_**There won't be anything like a villain in this first story, or probably in the second. In addition, season 1 is more about John Blake growing into his role as the Bat, with all that it implies-especially The World's (Second) Greatest Detective (If I need to tell you who the first one is, you have no business being here) Season 2 is the one with it's own story arc. But we have 27 episodes to get through before then. See you next part, which will be more or less the second-to-last.**_

_**BYEEE!**_

_**FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, BATMITE!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Angel Street**

**Gotham City**

**24****th**** February 2021**

"Tim Drake?" Blake repeated. "You're the copycat?"

"In a manner of speaking." Tim replied, looking thoughtful. "I hardly doubt the original Batman threatened to cut out people's tongues."

"Why? Why do you care?"

"You were hardly going to."

Blake recoiled "What?"

Tim looked amused. "We've been watching you, Mr Blake. In a non-creepy or stalkerish way."

"Who's we?"

"The Irregulars."

"Who?"

Tim sighed. "Put it this way: you ever read Sherlock Holmes?"

"Umm… Yeah?"

"They're not stories – They're history lessons."

"That's impossible."

"Really? In the past year, you've talked to a billionaire who spent the majority of his time dressing up as a giant bat, your city was invaded by a guy who sounded like Santa's psychopathic brother, you had to stop a nuclear weapon from being detonated in the heart of your city and, last but not least, you were selected to be the next person to be the vigilante that everyone now hails as a hero. Just to clarify, all that can happen, but a guy in the 1800s that routinely solves cases as an alternative to getting high is just too much."

"…Point taken, sorry."

"Anyway, I represent the interests of the IPPS-"

"IPPS?"

Tim glowered. "Irregular Private Police Service. We act as a kind of higher authority-when the police are in trouble, they come to us. We operate completely independent of any government-ideally, we can do go anywhere and do anything, not caring who we offend. Realistically, of course, it's a different story, but the intent is the same-pursuit of true justice."

"What do you want with me?"

"We want something simple-we want you to be Batman."

Blake recoiled. "What?"

"You heard me. Gotham needs Batman. Moreover, you need him too."

"No. I can't be Batman."

"Can't or won't?"

"Definitely can't."

"Why?"

Blake turned to look out over the city. Gotham's skyline was not technically beautiful, but Blake had always seen what drew people to Gotham. The city reeked, yes, and it was dark more than it was light, and the inhabitants could be as tough and cold as the buildings, but there was a strange beauty to Gotham. Here was a city that was brutally, unflinchingly honest, and would accept anyone and everyone. This was not Metropolis, but then Blake had never really liked Metropolis' shining buildings. Gotham was his home, and he would gladly give his life for it.

So what was stopping him?

"When the previous Batman died…" he started "He died saving Gotham City. All two million people. How can I contend with that?"

"You're not rivals. You can be Batman without competing with the old one." Tim placed a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"He had money. He had training. He had the skills. I have nothing. I'm working on a string budget, I'm forced to volunteer at an orphanage just to give me an excuse to be near the Cave, I'm… I'm not ready. Find another Batman. I can't."

Tim looked at Blake, really looked, and Blake felt like Tim was stripping away everything Blake pretended to be, getting to the heart of what he was.

"One question." Tim finally spoke. "If I hadn't stepped in, what would you have done?"

Blake started to speak, stopped, turned away. When he turned back, Tim was gone.

Blake felt the strange urge to laugh.

"One thing those two have in common," he muttered to himself, remembering Gordon's words on Batman. "You can't take your eyes off them for a moment."

Then he turned towards the orphanage, his mind whirling.

_**A/N: YAY! CONVERSATIONS!**_

_**Goddammit Batmite, will you shut the hell up!**_

_**NOOOOO! I'M WAY TOO EXITED!**_

_**So, anyway, just ignore Batmite-fucker and listen here**_

_**I've got a few comments that Blake is a shit Batman, so this is just a way to establish Blake's doubts-and mine as well, as I know that any Batman not called or at least mentored by Bruce Wayne is never going to be accepted. Deep down, Blake knows that no matter how well he does, he'll never be better than Bruce. Tim, on the other hand, takes the stance that that doesn't excuse him from trying.**_

_**So, the next one will be the last chapter of this episode, so tune in and review this one please!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Final chapter, folks! Enjoy!**_

**Thomas And Martha Wayne Home For Orphaned Children**

**Gotham City**

**25****th**** February 2021**

Blake woke from his troubled sleep and stepped out of his small bedroom to the sound of children's laughter and the smell of bacon-the normal sounds and smells of life at the orphanage.

He dressed quickly and walked downstairs, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Mr. Castle, the head of the orphanage and its sole owner, was busy making breakfast, and Blake moved to help him.

"Nice to see you in the land of the living, Blake." Castle greeted, a smirk on his lips.

Blake scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry… late night."

Images of the night before threw themselves up for Blake's inspection. Tim Drake. It was only now that he remembered-the Drake's had been old money in Gotham, before their untimely death because of their connections to an international smuggling ring. Tim, their only child, had disappeared. That was twelve years ago. What had happened to him?

"Mr Blake! Mr Blake!" Carrie called, running into the kitchen. "Commissioner Gordon's trial is on!"

Blake turned around, then turned back to Castle.

"I have to…" he started, stopped, couldn't continue.

"Go." Castle placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll handle breakfast."

Blake nodded and ran into the TV room.

Gordon was on screen, looking tired and worn. There were a number of officials facing him, one of them Hamilton Hill, the prime candidate for mayor.

"Just to clarify, Commissioner," Hill said, a triumphant smirk on his face, "You claim that not only was Batman your partner in crime whilst you were still merely a lieutenant, but after Harvey Dent's tragic murder, you fed him to the wolves, leaving yourself clean and starting off a conspiracy that destroyed this great cities trust in the official constabulary? These are the events as you have explained them?"

"From a certain point of view." Gordon replied, looking at Hill with irritation.

"What do you mean by that, Gordon?" Hill sounded pissed.

"Well, Batman was my ally, not my partner. Harvey Dent's death was an accident, not murder, and it was Batman's idea to sacrifice his reputation for the good of Gotham. One might argue that it was Bane's release of the prisoners of Blackgate, not any lie on my part, which disrupted official process in Gotham. And it was when I was a sergeant, not a lieutenant, that I started working with Batman. Does that clear the interpretation up?"

Hill looked pissed, now. Blake had to hand it to Gordon, he knew how to sound equal parts deferential and condescending.

"Did you ever wonder about the results of lying to the people of Gotham?" Sarah Essen, one of the other officials, asked gently.

Gordon looked up. "With all due respect, I was more concerned with what would happen to Gotham if I _didn't_."

Hill snorted. "The official constabulary had the situation well in hand."

"No. We didn't. We only told people that. During the Joker's attack on Gotham, the official constabulary achieved absolutely nothing without Batman's intervention. In fact, if it weren't for the Batman's intervention, the official constabulary almost killed several hostages, and we were all but powerless to stop the planting of explosives in no less than seven public locations. Gotham needed Batman then, just as it will always need him."

The officials were talking again, asking Gordon too many questions, but Blake was busy thinking, running through Tim's words, Gordon's, the thrill he had when he placed the cape and cowl on last night, the feeling that he would never, _ever_ be good enough to be Batman.

A small voice, on that sounded a lot like Tim, said that it didn't excuse him from trying.

Blake got up, heading towards the Batcave. He needed to go somewhere before he decided anything.

**Gotham City Hall**

Blake knew that the question of Batman had to end here, in this spot.

Standing in front of him, looking heroically down, was the statue of Bruce Wayne. Or Batman. Or maybe it didn't matter. Either way, it was scary as fuck.

"Wayne wouldn't have chosen you if he didn't think you could manage it. Trust him. And… trust yourself as well." A familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

Blake tuned to face Tim, who was gazing at the statue with reverence. He looked younger in the day. Logically Blake knew Tim was around about fifteen, but looking at this statue, Tim looked like a small kid.

"Why can't you do it?" Blake asked, trying to understand this boy better.

Tim smiled.

"Not my specialty. Who would be afraid of a child Batman?"

"They were intimidated by you."

"That's because I ripped off V for Vendetta. You strike more of an intimidating figure. Or you would, if we can get the suit to work for you."

"We?"

"You think I came all the way from Hub City to simply convince you to be Batman? Nah, I'm here as I told the girl, to be Batman's partner."

"What makes you think I'm going to accept that?"

"What makes you think you have a choice?"

"…Fair enough." Blake said, laughing now.

"You accept now?"

"You raised a strong argument. When do we start?"

"Soon. But, one thing. Your name."

"What about it?"

"You need to change it."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not fighting crime with a guy named Robin. You need to change it."

Blake admitted that Tim had a fair point. He glanced around, looking for a name. Finally, he found it, a name from Gotham's beginnings, immortalised as a plaque for founding some half-assed project to help the poor.

"McGinnis." Blake said with finality, looking at Tim, who grinned cheekily at him. "Terry McGinnis."

And with that, Batman was reborn.

**End**

_**A/N: WOOOOO! THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!**_

_**Really? I thought it was shit.**_

_**Really?**_

_**No, I liked it, but not to your annoying extremes, Batmite.**_

_**Anyway, got a present for all of you all.**_

_**Here's some music to go along with this (fan made, so I don't think it falls under copyright)**_

_**https(dash) .com(dash)watch?v=kpsRfJjlln8&amp;hd=1**_

_**OR YOU COULD USE MYNE! IT GOES LIKE THIS: NANANANANANANANA BAT-**_

_**BANG!**_

_**I was wondering where I put that gun. Guess it came in handy. Anyway, go check out that guy's stuff, it's all really good, and I'll have the next episode out as soon as I can. Thanks for reading, and goodnight!**_


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